Politics & Government
Election wrapup: Binns, Harrison and Freeman prevail, precinct maps, winners shared
Sally Francom | Lehi Free Press
Last Tuesday, the Lehi Free Press reported that general election voters chose Lehi’s Paul Binns as the next mayor. Binns had an early lead over Lehi City Councilwoman Paige Albrecht and went on to win 53.5% to 46.5%. For the two City Council seats, James Harrison led all other candidates early, so his place was secure Tuesday night, but the outcome of the second seat was unknown until a few days later. After Friday’s results were announced, political newcomer and nurse Rachel Freeman overcame Emily Lockhart’s early lead by 182 votes to earn the second seat.
Lockhart, who is currently serving on the Lehi Planning Commission, will continue in that role, and Albrecht, who is on the City Council, will continue for two more years.
Voter turnout countywide was 35%. Lehi has 44,167 registered voters, and 14,842 ballots were counted, or 33.6% voter turnout. Voters in central Lehi voted at higher rates than those in the upper Traverse Mountain and high-density areas near Redwood Road.
Precincts in darker blue showed high voter turnout than gray areas.
For the Mayoral race, Albrecht won downtown Lehi precincts in general, and in much of the Traverse Mountain area; Binns won areas in much of west Lehi and in the Skyridge High School area.
Jared Peterson failed to win a City Council seat, but performed well in parts of downtown Lehi. While Lockhart did well in the Thanksgiving Point and Traverse Mountain areas, she didn’t garner enough votes to earn a seat. Interestingly, Freeman won few precincts, but was still elected. Freeman may have benefited from the Utah County Republican Party’s (UCRP) endorsement. This is the first municipal election in which the UCRP endorsed candidates in a nonpartisan election. UCRP required all endorsed candidates to pay $50 and sign a pledge to support the UCRP platform.
All of the UCRP-endorsed candidates won in Lehi, unlike other municipal races throughout Utah County. All winning candidates will start their four-year term on January 1, 2026.
